Da Disgusting Media

Citizen's United: The monetization of our political discourse is destroying America.

In January 2010, the huge infusion of billions of media dollars into the American elections after the Citizen's United decision has dealt a serious blow to the efficacy of the of election process itself. When the Roberts court gave fiscal "personhood" and hence "free speech" to corporations SCOTUS loosed upon the land destructive forces that severely compromise and divide the media and the population. The democratic process is broken.

The electoral process has become malignant and it has nurtured huge profit centers within the balance sheets of corporate mass media vendors and producers. The court decision created a more powerful and a toxic American political media industry, a political player power that shapes and directs the discourse to maximize "eyes on the screen" hence profits on the books.
Why has the 4th estate failed our Representative Republic? It is because the Citizens United decision has made it possible to virtually purchase the media without any of the liabilities of ownership. And I suspect that is why Mr. Trump characterizes media organizations as being "corrupt" and hypocritical. The forces of political objectives and money shape and direct the narrative both consciously and unconsciously to favor the cheap and easy production of profits. Stonewalling and blatantly lying to the American people and the media regularly should be rewarded with a diminishment of coverage, not with increased interest. Obvious dishonesty and smarmy and coquettish narratives are not helpful to the citizenry despite the fact they honor the bottom line of media vendors.

Especially since the Citizen's United Debacle the tendency for the media to pursue ratings for income often substantially diminishes the good done by the press and particularly the electronic media. "Fake News" is an especially toxic byproduct and symptom of the this presently broken system. This phenomena also diminishes and negates the credibility of product. Mix in Social Media another profit center, and you have a perfect storm where money corrupts the media and distracts the people. This rising tide of corruption raises all media ships, including the digital media. Within this context one only has to pause to look and to see that in this case the democratic process is broken.Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC